Random facts 5
School travel *The proportion of primary-aged children walking to school declined from 53 to 49 per cent, with an increase from 38 to 43 per cent in the numbers being driven to school. For secondary school pupils, the proportion travelling to school on foot and by car increased slightly while the proportion travelling by bus fell from 33 to 29 per cent. Source: Department for Transport - National Travel Survey: 2005. Transport 2000 press release Social housing *Just a quarter (27 per cent) of private homes have adequate loft insulation, while almost a half (44 per cent) of social sector houses boast 150mm of insulation or more. Source: English House Condition Survey 2005, Communities and Local Government Spatial planning UK *74% now believe three million homes by 2020 is unrealistic. Source: UK SAINT Index press release, March 8 2009 *71% of people are not satisfied with their council’s performance on planning, compared to 65% in 2008. In addition, half the population think community views are not listening to adequately in the planning process, while only 25% think they are. Source: UK SAINT Index press release, March 8 2009 *When asked how important it is for the views of local communities to be taken into account in planning decisions affecting their area, 95 per cent of people responded that it was either `very important' or `fairly important.' Source: Friends of the Earth, June 25 2008 *When asked how important it is for climate change to be taken into account when considering the impact of new developments in planning decisions, 94 per cent of respondents said it was either `very important' or `fairly important.' Source: Friends of the Earth, June 25 2008 *In the current (UK) planning system, only around 14 per cent of all new housing given planning permission makes a contribution to infrastructure for services and amenities. Source: Communities and Local Government, December 2007 *The shadow of urban growth or new roads or runways means that with 11% of England already urbanised, a total proportion of 50% is seriously disturbed by the sight, noise, and movement associated with development. Source: Campaign to Protect Rural England, October 30 2007 topic Supermarkets and the environment *Around half of household waste arises from purchases made at supermarkets and convenience stores. A quarter of all rubbish put out by households is retail packaging. Information from WRAP *According to estimates by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs DEFRA, transporting food to and around the UK produced 19 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2002 of which 10 million tones were emitted in the UK - 1.8 per cent of total UK carbon dioxide emissions. *The DEFRA report also says that the overall social and environmental cost of food transport is £9 billion with impacts on road congestion, accidents, climate change, noise and air pollution. Source: Friends of the Earth, September 8 2006 Sustainable energy UK *Germany has 200 times more solar power and more than 10 times more wind power installed than the UK. Source: Friends of the Earth, April 22 2008 * Around 10 million homes still lack basic insulation. 9 million homes have unfilled cavity walls and 12 million homes have under-insulated lofts. Source: Local Government Association, March 7 2008 * In 2008, the average household faces a £1,000 bill for gas and electricity. In 2003 it was £572. Source: Local Government Association, March 7 2008 Tap water in London *London tap water costs less than a tenth of a penny per litre and emits 300 times less than bottled water alternatives. Source: London On Tap, September 2008 Tourism and climate change *"In 2005, (international) tourism's contribution to emissions was estimated to be approximately 5%. Measured as warming effect these emissions could represent up to 14% of global warming effect". Dr. Murray Simpson, Senior Research Associate at the Oxford's University Centre for the Environment. Source: UNEP, April 11 2008 Traffic in outer London * 87% of all car journeys by Londoners end in outer London * Only 13% of trips in outer London are made by public transport Source: Transport 2000 Trees, woodland and forest *Worldwide, some 60 million indigenous people are almost completely reliant on forest resources for their livelihoods - for food and fuel, medicines and materials. *Forestry in Northern Ireland: Northern Ireland fares badly with a mere six per cent woodland cover, compared to the UK average of 12 per cent. Source: Woodland Trust Category:Random facts